Shivalik 2017: Geo-Fest In My College

March 11, 2017March 18, 2017 by NILAKSHI PATHAK

Last week on this very day, Shivalik 2017 was organized. This year the fest was very special for me. It was because for the very first time, I actively participated in an event. My active participation came as a surprise even for me! You must me wondering what was so special about it? Well, I am a girl who hides behind her books but still this year I picked up the courage to manage stuff. And that stuff didn’t belong to my the things that I keep doing inside my room but it was about our big Geography department.

Events Before Shivalik 2017

Though the actual fest was on 3rd March, the preparation began way too early. I was given the responsibility of designing the poster and editing the magazine. But later, I was also involved in designing the cover of the magazine and writing certificates. It might sound small things to do but trust when I say, it was huge things for me. For the first time, I felt responsible in my life or to say it precisely and more honestly, I felt an important member of an event. That is why I want to share everything with you.

Below are the posters which I designed for the fest. And can you believe I don’t have the proper knowledge about the software which is used for designing poster but still I said yes when I was given the responsibility? And therefore, I ended up designing everything in MS PowerPoint.

And this was poster which was finally selected to be distributed in other colleges for inviting them in Shivalik 2017.

Once I was done with the poster, I started writing my article on “How Deforestation Gives Rise To Human Disease” for the magazine. I personally think, more research is needed on this topic. I was unable to find any relevant data on this topic- I mean the actual data where you can draw a correlation between deforestation and diseases. The numbers were missing from my article.

The magazine had many other beautiful and informative pieces of writing. I particularly liked an article on subjectivity by Rajat Patre. I will surely give you the chance to read it if I get the permission of publishing that article on this blog. You need to wait for it!

Along with the editing, I was also designing the cover for the magazine. And let me tell you I am not at all good in making colour combination- not when I am designing and not when I am deciding my clothes. Till now, you must have realized I suck at many things but again that’s okay. I will learn slowly. The amazing skills of Kartavya came handy when I was designing the cover. He actually helped me a lot in it. Here is the magazine cover.

Events During Shivalik 2017

Shivalik 2017 was organized on both 2nd and 3rd March. I participated in Poster Making Competition on 2nd March. And guess what? I was able to secure the first position in the competition. My poster wasn’t a brash painting that immaculately coloured, it was a simple drawing that I thought explained the concept of ‘Sustainable Development’.

The picture below shows the other poster that my friends made.

I remember taking part in the same event last year in KMC (another college of DU). And the reaction of my friends (Rajnish and Munish) after seeing my poster was, “Are you going to apply for any Kid criteria?” Yes, the poster was that bad. It was scenery with a rainbow, a tree, and a river. The paintings that kids do when they are in fifth/sixth standard. Perhaps, this was the reason that this time I woke up literally at 5 in the morning to practice drawing posters. Here is my last year poster. Please don’t judge me on basis of it.

On 3rd March, I participated in ‘Slogan Making Competition’ where I secured the third position and in ‘Extempore’ where I barely survived. Now let me tell you, what happened in extempore. In the very first place, I was reluctant to participate in it. The reason being neither I am a good public speaker nor I am an indomitable person. I am a timorous human being who loves to stay away from such things. When I disclosed my fear of speaking to a friend of mind, he suggested me to quaff liquor to gain confidence. Hehe!

I have read and seen so many motivational/inspirational stuff and one common thing in these videos/books is that it talks about moving out of your comfort zone to grow. I was trying to grow! My topic for the extempore was, “Is Drought A Real Disaster?”. My disaster management professor talked about it in the class. Look at the coincidence, she was even one of the judge of the competition. I spoke badly, I mean literally, it was very bad. And in the midst of my little speech, I also became blank. I ended up saying “I’m sorry” in middle of my that little speech for standing stupidly in front of everyone. I was unencumbered when my turn of speaking was finally over. Maybe someday, I will become a good public speaker though the chance is very less. But again, who knows?

This was all about my experience in Shivalik 2017. It was so good and special for me that I felt it was worth sharing with you guys.